U.S.-Peru trade agreement aims to curb illegal logging

In a major advance in our campaign to halt Peru's export of endangered mahogany, Congress and the Bush Administration agreed to include key protections against illegal logging in the U.S.-Peru trade agreement. Each year, loggers cut down thousands of majestic mahogany trees, laying waste to the lush habitat of the squirrel monkey and threatening the survival of indigenous peoples. More than 80 percent of this tropical timber — much of it illegally harvested — is bound for the United States. Congressional negotiators also insisted on measures that would prevent illegal mahogany from passing through U.S. Customs.